Immortal Ground
by thegoodgirldoll
Summary: They would protect them at all costs; they were their children, and their children wouldn't go into the arena alone. Katniss/Peeta, post Epilogue, and the Games have continued with a new generation of players, and audience!
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: I've never written for the Hunger Games, and I just finished the books, so I hope you all enjoy this! A lot of OCs are going on, but you'll be able to sort them all out soon enough. I hope you guys can get through these first few chapters. The longer, and more in depth ones will come as it gets closer to around chapter 3-5.

God Bless,

Thegoodgirldoll (:

The house was dark; the blinds drawn, and dim lamps lit on various tables.

"Peeta, are the kids sleeping?" Katniss whispered in the almost pitch blackness.

"Would you be sleeping?" He replied, moving a hand to rub up and down her back. They mounted the staircase together, and climbed to peer into their children's rooms. First, they gave the door to their daughter, Ingrid's, room a gentle push. Surprisingly, she was asleep. Her blonde curls framed her young face. She didn't look too old, nor did she look under thirteen. She was a tall, slender sixteen year old with a strong sense for art like Peeta, and a slow ability to learn and take in things. Her mind wasn't too sharp, but at least she had learned to sit still for my than five minutes at a time in school.

The next room they moved to check was their son, Nicholas. They weren't surprised to see him wide awake. He sat straight up in bed, his back towards them. His dark brown hair was buzzed on the edges, and spiky on the top. His muscles contracted at the sound of the door creaking open, and Peeta was surprised. It seemed his son's mind was already in the games. Nicholas was a mere fourteen years old, the striking image of his mother in stature and mentality. Peeta knew there was no other way to approach the subject, than bluntly. Katniss took a seat on his bed as Peeta began to pace the room. His eyes fogged over with another memory that Katniss guessed was from the Tracker-Jacker venom. He had come back to her, yes, and fully. But still, there were time when he thought of his imprisonment, the arenas…that he would fall into the world of shiny memories, that he couldn't escape. Not needing to be left alone for this conversation, Katniss shook him slightly. He came to immediately and stared his son in the eyes.

"You're going into the arena, with your sister, in a couple of hours time. You have to be prepared." He stated fiercely. Katniss seemed thoughtful at the level of severity her husband held in his voice.

"I agree with your father," she stood beside him now. "you need to be prepared, Nick. Ingrid won't know what to do; she won't be quick on her feet, she doesn't know how to shoot, and she'd have a better chance of sprouting wings than throwing a knife."

"But I can't protect her. If I do, it will come down to me, and her, and I can't kill my own sister."

"You're allowed alliances." Katniss continued, ignoring his comment. "I say pair up with the District 10 kids. Caskadia, and Aaron. Aaron is fair with tree climbing, and Caskadia is so painstakingly dim, she'll follow whatever orders you bark. You don't have to get attached."

Peeta cringed at the fierceness he hadn't heard in Katniss's voice since over-throwing the Capitol. Nicholas simply nodded, and Katniss stepped closer to him.

"Both of you better come home to me. You fight, and keep fighting until you can't feel anything anymore. Do you understand?" She grabbed him by the shoulders now. Never had she imagined her children would be chosen for the games. In an instant, she felt what her mother must've felt. Neither of his children would ever be able to tell her how Prim felt, though. She wasn't chosen alongside Katniss. She hadn't had to be her enemy in the arena. Katniss wondered, if they had the choice, if her kids would want to choose one of them to watch from the TV sets, or keep it was it was. She supposed that the guilt of being unable to defend the other would be over-whelming. Hadn't that been what she felt when she rushed forward to take Prim's place? Worry for the guilt she would endure if she didn't?

Katniss didn't know. All she knew, was that savoring the last moments of her family together, were the hardest thing to have to let go off. She knew that in a few short hours, they'd have to say goodbye…

And for at least one of her children, it was be forever.

When she laid in bed that night, even Peeta's warmth surrounding her couldn't take away her fear. This wasn't one of the nightmare's he protected her from; it was reality now. Their children were going to die, and as Peeta held her close she realized that he had come to that realization too. The initial shock was gone. Their children were going into the arena.

Their children might never come home, and in less than 48 hours, one of them or both could be dead.

Burying her head in Peeta's chest, she sobbed out the anxiety she held deep in her heart for her children, and the years worth of bottling up the horrors of the arena that two of their own would have to face. Peeta's tears stained her hair as he kissed her head, but he wiped them away hastily. In the morning, there would be no time for crying. Dry eyes were essential; and so was making it clear to their children that they would protect them at all costs if they did the same for each other once the Games began.

**Author's Note: Gettin' a feel for the characters, and a little slow paced. But it will get better! I have the arena and everything planned out! Please review! **

**God Bless,**

**Sarah. (: **


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: Yeah, I haven't updated in awhile, but I hope that this was worth it. I really don't know if I'm writing them well, so please let me know!**

**God Bless,**

**Sarah. **

Katniss felt robotic, repetitive as he helped Peeta prepare the children for the trip to the Capitol. All of it was too painful; too much of a reminder of what they went through. Peeta did most of the talking: he was the level headed one- the calm one, so she let him handle all of the details. She just helped lay out their clothes, prepare their breakfast, and then avoid their eyes. She knew that their eyes would hold the same look that she gave her mother, Gale, when she found out she was definitely going into the arena…Twice. The look that begged for help- help that couldn't come. The arena, the Reaping, everything about this time of year, every year, just felt like a trap. Katniss had never guessed her children would be caught in it, though. Perhaps, sometimes, she did _think _of it…But she dismissed that thought. Maybe she shouldn't have, though. Maybe she should have taken more necessary precautions to protect her children. Guilt flooded into her veins now…How could she have been stupid enough to believe that their children, _Peeta and Katniss's children, _wouldn't be chosen for the Hunger Games. Of course the Game Makers would love that- make for a good show, right? Lots of viewers, sponsors, _fun. _Truthfully, though, Katniss and Peeta's love was supposed to be a staged attempt at staying alive, and they ended up defying all the odds…together. Her kids could do that too, right? After all, they were a mix of both Peeta and Katniss…and that was as good a mix as any.

Katniss played close attention to her children that next morning. She was more nervous than the very day she went into the Games, and it was making everything ten times worse. Katniss first appraised her daughter, watching her come into the kitchen, still in pajamas, wishing that it was just another normal Sunday, just as Katniss wished it were.

Ingrid looked pale and tired as she stumbled around the kitchen, insisting on fixing her own breakfast. Her hair was matted, and messy curls fell to frame her face as though she had ripped her braid out in the middle of the night. Katniss did look at her daughter long enough to catch this, and sighed. She mumbled something to Peeta about finishing the eggs, and then sat Ingrid down on a stool near the kitchen counter. Gently, she ran her fingers through her daughter's hair, destroying the knots, and then, she slicked her hair down from the front and began braiding a new, neat French braid down her back.

Nicholas's face was drawn in concentration. His eyebrows were furrowed, his eyes looked dark, sunken, and his lips were pressed firmly together. He didn't speak, much like Ingrid, and moved to take his father's place as watching over the eggs. Peeta went to follow Ingrid, seeing as she had bustled off quickly, tears coming down her cheeks quickly after her mother had finished her braid. Nicholas sighed as he took plates out of the cabinet and finished preparing everyone's breakfast. He looked so fearful, so worn out. It was tearing Katniss's heart in two to see her family being torn s violently apart. What had she defied the Capitol for if it wasn't freedom? She hadn't done it just to prove that she could; she had wanted things to change, and they hadn't- they never would.

Then is when Katniss finally felt the strength bubble over in her to speak. She rested a strong hand on her son's shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze.

"Nicholas, you'll do fine, you know."

"Will Ingrid?" He asked back.

"She needs a little more help than you do, but I'm sure she will be okay. Get her in a tree if there are any, and you get deep in the ground if there's a trench, a hole, anything. You're strong in throwing things, so just take anyone you can by surprise. Do whatever you have to in order to get you and your sister out of there. Your father and I are going to do everything we can to get you good sponsors, and sponsor you ourselves. I promise."

Nicholas nodded. "Ill do my best, Mom. I already want to come home. The arena seems so cold, and dismal. Everything around here just has a different air about it when the time comes around. If things are better than when you were a kid, I can't believe how bad it must've been then."

"It was bad, but that's not what we need to discuss. The only thing that's important to me right now is getting both of my children home safe. The sooner you take everyone else out, the sooner you'll come home."

"Mom, why do we have to protect each other, though? Only one can make it out alive."

For the first time since the Reaping, Katniss smiled. "Because, Nicholas, the Game Makers never play by the rules."

_Author's Note: I know it was very short, but next chapter I'm either doing the interviews, or throwing them into the arena already, and then just doing flashbacks of the interviews to help you get to know the other players better. Either way, it will be MUCH longer. Anyways, please review and tell me what you thought. _

_God Bless,_

_Sarah. _


	3. Chapter 3

Peeta held Katniss against his chest as they waited for the interviews to begin. They Game Makers changed everything, and they had had to say goodbye today, give them over to the interviewers, and then by tomorrow, their children would be in the arena. Katniss couldn't handle the guilt that flooded over her…She should have never let Peeta talk her into having children. What had she done? Raised two lambs for the slaughter? She clutched Peeta's shirtfront tightly, and cried into it.

"What did we do, Peeta? What did we do!"

It was early in the morning when the children were taken back to get dressed and prepped for the games. Nickolas and Ingrid were being dressed in dark black with flecks of yellow for their stupid District 12 coal miner outfits. There was nothing special about their costumes this year; no one's costumes were too elaborate anymore. Now, the main focus was the games: the propaganda was important, but everyone was more concerned with the actual fight. Everyone was trained separately from the beginning, even, so that none of the children would meet. So now, as they stood on the platforms, they looked at their opponents for the first time.

They were lot of younger children this time, 12-14 year olds were prominent. There was also a few buff, teen boys but Nickolas could see their shaking. Careers weren't trained so roughly now…They were more human, like everyone else, and they could sense the horrid atmosphere they were being thrown into. The sky was dark, and since usually it changed from day to night like any normal sky, they knew it would remain dark all the time. There had to be flashlights somewhere. They could see stones littering the dark, musty smelling ground. There were jagged gravestones everywhere, and the grass was non-existent, or quite minimal in some placed and brown. There was a chill in the air that everyone could feel. It felt like death, standing right next to each and every one of the tributes.

Katniss and Peeta watched with such intenseness that it would they themselves were in the Games. Katniss breathed heavily, repeating under her breath over and over: "Ingrid is clumsy…Please don't fall, honey, please be careful. Ingrid be careful."

Peeta held her close, and breathed just as heavily, rubbing his arm as they watched. They stared at the small clock in the corner of the screen as it counted down. 30 seconds…25 seconds…18 seconds…7seconds..1 second..Katniss jumped up and cried out as the horn went off and the children ran. Both of their kids were heading straight for the Bloodpath- heading right for the Cornucopia.

"NO!" Katniss shouted as tears formed in her eyes. "Peeta, they went for the bags, Peeta!"

He stood and pulled her to sit back on the couch, calming her as best he could.

"Peeta, our babies! Why would they do that, we told them not to!"

Peeta pulled away so they could look into each other's eyes.

"Katniss, _I _told them too."

"W-what?"

"Katniss, look."

She followed where his finger was pointing, to the TV screen, and watched as the Careers darted off in a different direction altogether. The ground began to shake where they were heading and three Careers fell through the cracks as they screamed and three cannons were fired. Katniss covered her mouth with her hand and watched the scene unfold. Old, decayed hands broke through the dirt as Nickolas and Ingrid darted off together towards the forest far away. They ran deep into the thickets of trees and mud as the other tributes were pulled under by the hands, or bitten by the mouths of decaying, dead bodies. One tribute caught on fast, and took a knife, aiming straight for the head of the odd figure rising up from the ground. Stabbing it, the being immediately fell backwards and became immobile- dead. 2 more tributes had died by the being's coming up from the graves, and now there was one struggling against the hands of a particularly grey decaying body, attempting to pull it towards a hole. One of the other tributes turned around, a young girl of what seemed to be twelve, and ran to help the young boy up. They ran quickly then, and all of the figured retreated back into the ground.

"Peeta, how did you know that was going to happen?"

"You should always go for the weapons."

Katniss nodded solemnly. Peeta did believe in being equipped, and he knew their children were smart: he had forewarned them about the Bloodpath and knew they could handle it. Plus, wasn't that good practice for staying alive in the rest of the arena? Katniss sighed and leaned against his chest since the camera was on the group of tributes, not their children, and would be for awhile. She asked him the next question in his mind, then, the one she didn't want to hear.

"Zombies, Peeta, if they bite you, then you turn into one?"

Peeta nodded tensely.

"And, they're in a-"

"-Zombie Apocolypse."

_Author's Note: So now you all know what the arena is, and you know that 5 tributes are dead. 19 left. I will add more detail and stuff soon- this story has been hard for me to get into since the characters are SO complex, but I am working hard to get the hang of them, so bare with me, please!_

_Please review!_

_God Bless,_

_Sarah_


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note: This story still isn't the easiest for me to write; an arena is just so hard, expecially introducing you to all the other remaining tributes soon, so this story will move a bit fast. But please enjoy and review! **

**Blessings,**

**Sarah.**

Nickolas held Ingrid close as they sky flashed with 10 dead tributes.

_Ten. _

"It's only the first day," Ingrid whispered. "I'm scared, Nick."

"Don't be, sis. Don't be. It's a good thing this is happening; less for us to have to kill."

Ingrid let out a strangled sob as they watched one of the older Career Tributes fight with a rather ravished looking zombie.

"I don't want to kill anyone, Nick. I just don't!" She wailed loudly.

Nick knew it was wrong of her to be this loud, and his fears of her depressed display came alive when the zombie fighting the Career turned to stare in their direction quickly. Ingrid shrieked and grabbed the first object she could: a hard rock, to chuck at the creature. She hit it square on the head from a distance and they both stood quickly from where they had been sitting trying to make a fire. The zombie lurched towards them, running at a speed they had been unaware it could.

_Katniss gripped Peeta's hand tightly as they watched. _

"Nick, kill it!" Ingrid yelled, running as fast as her legs let her.

Nickolas saw the monster gaining up on them, and scooped his sister into his arms, rubbing up a sloppy piece of land, jutting up to a high peak about the ground. The zombie seemed confused at the height, and tried jumping up on the thick protruding land before bouncing backwards and falling on its face. Standing, it looked around curiously before snapping its head back in place and continuing on its way. Nick squeezed his sister's hand and laughed.

"_Heights! _As long as we stay high up on something, they can't get up here! We're safe, Gridd."

Ingrid smiled despite the tears running down her cheeks and held her brother tightly.

_Well done, Nickolas, Peeta thought to himself satisfactorily as he kissed Katniss's head._

The night fell quickly in the arena, and soon the camera was no longer on their children. Katniss was glad that the camera left them; that meant that they were un-interesting and therefore, safe.

"Nick?" Ingrid asked as she shivered against the cold that next night.

"Yes?" He asked, holding a small bird over the fire.

"Do we have to eat a bird?"

"Would you rather eat one of those?" He asked, pointing towards the zombie 'having it out' with another tribute down in the corner of the arena.

Ingrid shook her head slowly and shrugged. "It's just, birds are my favorite animals."

"I know, Ingrid. I'm sorry. But look, there are 10 tributes we know of dead, and since everything was too hectic to hear cannons, just watch the sky so we won't miss the res-"

The sky illuminated with five new faces, and then went off.

As Nick was able to gather, there were 3 Careers left, and them. He knew that they were probably hunting in a pack, but if they couldn't find him or Ingrid, wouldn't they _have _to turn on each other? Who would want to live in this arena for the rest of their lives?

"Ingrid, blow out the fire."

Ingrid didn't ask questions; she had promised herself she would do whatever her brother told her to in the arena. She knew that he would do everything he could to keep them alive. She snuffed the fire quickly and followed Nick as they made their way through the dried up leaves, leaving loud crunch noises in their wake.

"Where are we going?" She couldn't resist the question.

"Higher ground?"

"Higher than this!" Ingrid exclaimed, catching her footing before she slipped on a small rock.

"Yes. If the Careers don't find us, they will have to turn on each other."

"But won't the Game Makers drive us all together?"

"Not if things get interesting with those three first," he replied confidently.

Eventually, they found higher ground and Ingrid pulled out the soft, small sleeping bag that had come in a small bag she had found near the river. She figured it had been one of the dead tribute's, seeing as Game Makers left any supplies, just not weapons, after a death. Ingrid made enough room for both of them to fit, (although somewhat uncomfortably), in the sleeping bag, and they fell asleep without any further comment.

**Author's Note: Alright, so, there you have chapter 4. Like I said, things are moving fast. No that have them down to the five I wanted, things will kick off, and I will be able to focus specially on each tribute, and Katniss and Peeta. 24 of them was just over-load. xD lol.**

**Please review!**

**Blessings,**

**Sarah.**


End file.
